The Police Girl
by GraePearl
Summary: Welcome to Hellsing, a private detective unit that solves London's most curious crimes, working directly for the queen herself. Run by Integra Hellsing and her strange husband Alucard, a new addition in the form of a seven year old Seras Victoria turns the organization's head upside down and inside out. (Modern AU)
1. The First Meeting

**Welcome to my newest AU! The premise will revolve around what if Hellsing worked for the queen in a different? What if it was set in a different time where Alucard was human and Seras still a child? Enjoy the first chapter!**

"And this is the outer grounds where the children play, Mr. Hellsing!" A chipper woman gestured to an open, fenced in area with a playground, sandbox, and grass for playing tag. Alucard observed with his constant smirk at the many children already enjoying the summertime breeze with their friends.

The man adjusted his sunglasses and took a sweep of the yard. "It's fine, I guess." His tour guide and owner of the orphanage he was visiting gave him a borderline offended look, but kept up her cheerful persona for the sake of letting one lucky child to leave her jurisdiction for good. She could only take so much at once.

Without waiting, the woman took the lead and walked down the steps that entered the grounds while motioning to the different groups of children as they went by in a blur. "That is Thomas and Frederick. Both have a love for football and sports. You won't be getting much rest during the day with those two."

Alucard rubbed his chin in thought. The boys approached a group of young girls and proceeded to harass them. They poked and prodded without respect despite the girl's pleas to leave them be. The male's hopes had been dashed immediately. "Maybe not."

Three girls sat on the swings, whispering back and forth. When the imposing man passed by with their current caretaker, their conversation was hushed for a moment. Alucard menacing eyes grazed over the girls which caused them to shiver and leave the swing set with haste.

"That was Susan, Elizabeth, and Constantine. Quite the little chatter bugs they are."

"I don't think it would work out." Alucard uttered with distaste. "I'm not one for gossip, and I certainly won't tolerate in my home."

A tut escaped the lips of the lady. "Well most of the girls are ruled out then."

Another group of boys ran by throwing sticks and stones at each other while shouting insensitive jokes that the man would've punished them for even muttering if it was up to him. Nonetheless, the lady just shoot a deadly glare in their direction. It only caused a small hitch in their arogant steps.

The woman shook her head as the boys flocked away. "I'm sorry Mister Alucard, please forgive them. They're just boys after all."

"Right." he concluded, but still carried with him the knowledge that none of those children were making his list of potential candidates.

Along they went, the warden woman of the orphanage pointing out all the children by name. Each time, Alucard gave a point to disapprove all of them. Some were too showy, others unbearably rude. Many of the boys couldn't even do the simplest act of treating the fairer sex with proper punctuality. The girls didn't stand on their own, but whinned and cried when not given the respect they needed to earn.

The adults almost made a full circle around the yard, and yet none of the youths struck a chord with the dark aura'd fellow. He was at the end of his rope and almost ready to call it a day and try again some other time.

Until the two had walked past a small pond near the path they walked on.

Alucard didn't notice her at first, thinking that it was just a trick of the imagination. Just to humour himself, he took another look back.

It was a girl with the most striking blonde hair he had ever seen. It stuck out in that back and winged out just halfway down her scrawny neck and ended in wild spikes that looked as if they could cut someone. Her clothes were the standard brown skirt with a crisp white dress shirt and red bow under her collar. She was facing away from Alucard with her face no doubt looking over the surface of the water.

The most curious thing through was that she was all alone. Unlike many of the others, no one was around to keep her company. The sight was almost melancholic to even take a glimpse at.

He stopped right in his tracks and turned to fully face the hunched over form of the girl. The child stood up and cocked back her arm. Through his glasses, he saw a tiny stone clutched in her slim fingers. In one fluid motion the girl flung the stone across the water and sent it flying over the tiny ripples. When it meet the surface, it lept back up and collided with yet another ripple. This continued a few more times until the stone inevitably slowed down and sank under.

To say Alucard was impressive at her stone skipping skills was an understatement. Her focus was impressive, her throwing on point, and not to mention the perfect upswing that seemed to belong to a professional rather than this little girl.

The woman noticed his intrigue in the child and stepped up. "It's best you leave that one alone."

Alucard still held his cheshire grin and turned to the other grown-up. "What do you mean?" The caretaker's facade that she wore for the children's' sake faded into a deep frown. She leaned close and whispered needlessly. "The poor girl's parents were killed right in front of her. When she tried to stop the murders..."

Her words cut off immediately. Alucard stopped smiling his twisted grin and grew serious. "What happened?"

The woman took a deep breath and drew out a handkerchief to dap the sweat from her brow. "They shot the deary in the gut. Before she passed out, she witnessed her mother's corpse being...'violated'."

Alucard clicked his tongue and flicked the brim of his hat. Unexpectedly, he felt a pang of sympathy for the child skipping stones on her own. No child should have to see their own parents die then used to please some sicko. "Let me guess, has she been traumatized ever since?"

"Yes, she doesn't even play with the other children. But..."

The word "but" caught the gentleman's attention as if it were a bullet. "Go on."

"S-she has a strong sense of justice." The once tender face turned sour on a dime. "Too strong if you ask me. Whenever the boys try to peep under the skirts of the girl's, she charges them and starts beating them up. Just recently, some if the boys banded together and tried to silence her power. Of course, she fought back."

By now, Alucard's interests had been highly piqued. This girl was strong, independent, and also was willing to fight when others wouldn't. He pushed his glasses farther up the brig of his nose and made his advance forward. "In my opinion, the girl all all the right to defend her fellow orphans from peeping toms. I would like to speak to this child."

The woman scoffed obnoxiously. "Wouldn't you rather have a less tempestuously mannered child? There is still the library and dorm rooms to see-"

"That is quite alright, Miss Pennyworth. My mind had been made up."

Without another word, Alucard continued walking towards the lonely girl. By now, she had raised her arm back to chuck another stone on its way to a watery grave. The stringy muscles in her upper arms tensed in preparation for the throw and her skinny twigs for leg didn't waver at her stiffened posture.

Her body lurched forward to give the stone and extra boost forward. On the stone went over the calm waves of the pond, smacking into the ripples and getting higher and lengthier with each bounce. When it finally lost its momentum and joined the rest of its kind under the water, Alucard was standing impressed with the distance that the stone had gone.

Not wanting to be in the background anymore, he clapped for her.

"Well done, little girl."

Said girl froze for a split second. Her tiny hands curled into defensive fists that were prepared to strike at any given moment. Her shoulders were raised in order to aim higher. The child was prepared, he would give her that. In slow motion, the child turned around and looked the man straight in the eyes.

Her face was slightly rounded, adding a cuteness to her that struck something inside Alucard that he himself was uncertain of. Two gleaming blue eyes seemed to outshine the pond in the background and create a sense of safety. To top it all off, bandaids on her knees and over her nose as proof to her fights she got into on a regular basis.

"Who are you?" she asked in an almost nonchalant way. Her voice was a small thing that barely stood on its own feet. All the same, it held itself as steady as he would've expected from a child that couldn't even practice talking with her peers.

The man reverted back to his usual grin and gave a small bow out of formality. "My name is Alucard Hellsing. And you, little girl?"

Her face went flush at the politeness that he showed. It was evident that she was socially awkward right off the bat. She wrung her hands and puckered her lips. "M-my name is S-seras, Seras Victoria."

Alucard paused. The last name had rung a bell in his head and he remembered a man he had met once in his line of work. "Seras, your father wouldn't happen to have been a police officer, would he?"

Seras's eyes widened and she snapped up like a toy soldier. "Y-yeah...at least he was..." Her words dwindled into the summer breeze at the mention of the parent.

Officer Victoria, a fine man and decent policeman. Judging by the way his daughter seemed to act as if Alucard was a drill sergeant during boot camp proved he had properly instilled police senses in her. To put this to the test, he walked past her to the bank of the pond while providing a small pat on her shoulder.

"Lead with your back foot." Alucard said curtly while picking up a smooth and flat stone. Seras lept to his side and watched in wonder and anticipation. "What do you mean?"

Turning the stone over in his hands, Alucard smirked. "Whether it's punching snobby brats or skipping stones, stepping into the follow-through with your back foot gives you much more power than a weak front foot step."

Staying true to his words, he set his left foot back and brought his throwing arm to a starting position. "Once you master that, you can learn follow-up sweeps." With a snap of his wrist, the stone went sailing across the pond.

Skip one.

"Then there's backhanded hits,"

Skip two.

"And jumping kicks,"

Skip three.

"Don't forget grabs,"

Skip four.

"Until finally,"

The stone made one last skip before landing on the opposite shore in some tall grass. Seras stood amazed and wide mouthed at the perfection of it all.

"You knock them out with blunt force to the head."

Alucard shoved his hands in his pockets. He glanced down at the girl with his signature grin that would scare even the toughest of men. But this was Officer Victoria's daughter; she stood and hung onto every single line without breaking the stare down.

The man bent down again and picked up another stone that would definitely make it to the other side if in the right hands. He pressed it into the waiting palms of Seras. "Now you try."

Seras blinked and examined the stone with her fingers brushing over the surface. Once she was fully acquainted, she stepped up, setting back her left foot. Alucard nodded with approval. "Excellent, now focus."

The orphan took a deep breath and brought her arm back. She waited a moment and trained her sights to where Alucard's stone had landed. Without anymore hesitation, she let the stone fly on the wings of the water.

It made five skips, five circles of waves before landing on the other end of the pond.

Seras grinned and silently pumped her fists close to her chest. "I did it!" She turned up to beam at Alucard, clear joy written all over her face. "Thank you, sir!"

Alucard chuckled and ruffled her hair. "You've done well, police girl."

The caretaker watching from a distance watched in awe at the miracle she had just witnessed. Again she dabbed her handkerchief over her brow and shook her head.

"How curious life is. I thought I was stuck with that little monster until my death."

* * *

The next time Seras met Alucard, she met many new faces too.

Seras was waiting on the steps of the orphanage with a shy smile curving like a bow on her face. Her dress that had been sent to her from her new family was neat and tidy as it accented her blonde locks that had been combed through. In her hands was a small suitcase with her toothbrush, stuffed bunny, and a book of Grimm Brothers fairy tales.

Beside her, Miss Pennyworth was standing with her stature as stiff as a board. A scowl defined her features as she leaned down to speak to Seras.

"If you come back tomorrow, you're on bathroom duty."

The child just shrugged and tapped her foot impatiently. "Whatever!" she chimed and continued to dance a little. She could've cared less about what would happen next. The only thing that she was expecting was a fresh start away from her caretaker.

To think, she was actually leaving her temporary situation and living with a real family for the first time in two years. Finally, things were going her way.

In no time at all, a white car rolled up from the gates that separated Seras from the rest of her future ahead. She noticed the car had a decorative head ornament that looked familiar from somewhere she couldn't place in her mind just quite correctly.

The luxurious car rolled up. It was obviously well kept just looking at the almost crystal clear windows and virtually untouched shell was almost something out of her story book, but instead of a horse, it was a cadillac on white walled wheels.

It rolled up as if it was gliding over the pavement rather than driving. The engine hummed a moment longer before it ceased to make a sound. From the driver's side, the front seat door opened and out stepped an aging man in a clean cut grey suit. His hair was beginning to lighten from a raven black to an ashen shade seemed to accent his sharp face and wrinkles. There was a serious air about him, as well as a certain bit of caution that seeped from his calm demeanor.

When he turned his amber brown eyes on Seras, she felt stuck. For use of a better word, it was hypnotizing just taking a single peak.

There they stood giving each other a stare down before the older man cracked a knowing smile and walked around the front of the car to stand in front of the waiting girl. Miss Pennyworth regarded the driver with her snake-like eyes scanning over the rim of her spectacles. Without even looking him straight in the face, she extended her hand and turned her nose up at him with a foolish smirk.

"You must be the butler here to fetch Little Miss Victoria. I am her caretaker-"

"Miss Pennyworth, I presume?" The man butt in mid introduction causing Seras to flinch at his abruptness. Miss Pennyworth scoffed and withdrew her hand. "Yes, I am she."

"Good." From then on, the man ignored the older woman and turned his full attention to the little one before him with a disarming smile. "And you must be the Police Girl that Alucard sent me to fetch." He bowed with his hand over his heart. That was when she noticed that the butler hand the most peculiar black gloves on in the middle of the afternoon.

Even so, she didn't forget her manners that had been instructed to her since birth. She rolled her shoulders back and puffed her chest. "Hello, sir. I am-," That was when she back pedaled and realized the title she had just be bestowed. "Hey! My name isn't 'police girl!" she cried out and puffed out her cheeks. "My name is Seras Victoria."

The butler laughed and extended his hand. "Of course, Miss Victoria. May I take your suitcase?"

Seras blushed at the use of her last name in such a lady-like way. It made her feel twenty years older than seven. She held out the brown case and nodded. "Yes sir!"

Again the butler chuckled and took the suitcase gladly. "You are apart of the Hellsing family now, please call me Walter."

"Walter." The child tested the name on her tongue and found it was much more fun to say aloud than a bland 'Yes sir'. For what felt like the millionth time, she nodded while her bangs bobbed right along. "Okay, Walter."

Walter grinned and walked over to the trunk of the car. He popped it open and stored away the old suitcase and shut the hatch without making very much noise. For some reason, this annoyed Miss Pennyworth and caused her to walk away while mumbling unladylike things under her snickering breath.

Walter disproved them and walked over to the passenger back door. He had one hand behind his back and the other on the door handle. The butler opened the door and ushered the child inside with the hand that was once behind his back. "In you go, Miss Victoria. We have a long drive ahead of us and a meeting to get to."

Seras bobbed her head and stepped inside the car. The step up into the the back seat was almost too much if not for Walter's hand to support her safely along. Once inside without trouble, Seras buckled herself in while Walter closed the door and went back into the driver's seat.

The girl could see Walter grinning in the overhead mirror as he readjusted it to properly see the tiny thing. "Ready Miss for your new life at the Hellsing house?"

With all the courage she had stored up over the years of solitude and anger, she let herself relax and reply cheerfully. "Ready to go, Walter!"

* * *

The next new face was the master of the house, Miss Hellsing herself.

Walter had made casual conversation with her the whole way to the new home. He told her all sorts of rules such as don't go in the basement alone, don't leave the house without informing an adult first, don't touch this, don't touch that. Most of it was the usual rules that Seras had grown up under when her parents were still alive. Just with a few little things sprinkled in for added formality.

It was the final rule as Walter pulled up to a large manor house that sent chills up her spine and made her blood freeze solid.

"Whatever happens, never enter Miss Hellsing's study without permission." Walter punctuated the 'without permission' with a long space between the two words. Seras nodded and played with the hem of her blue dress. He eyed her through the reflection of the mirror with s stern expression. "Do I make myself clear, Miss Victoria?"

She nodded and looked back at the butler's reflection. "Yes Walter. I understand very clearly." The smile she had begun to grow into beamed back at her as Walter parked the car in front of a set of stairs. The stairs led towards a pair of decadent double doors leading to what she assumed was the rest of the gigantic house.

Walter turned off the car and stuffed the keys into her pockets. Seras opened the door for herself and leapt out onto the cobblestone. She awed at the sheer size of the manor. Windows seemed to come in droves with many fancy designs outlining them in a classical way.

Everything from the old fashioned swirls and arches that towered over her tiny form seemed to reach halfway to the sky made her heart swell.

Her driver stepped up beside her and began to climb the stairs that led into the house. "Step up, Miss Victoria. And close your mouth, you'll catch bugs." The girl shut her mouth immediately and skipped steps to catch up to Walter.

The butler stopped to open the door and motioned for Seras to enter first. She ducked under Walter's arm that propped the door open for her.

If the outside had been impressive, inside was even more so. The light from outside cast an almost heavenly glow on the blue tiled floor. Another staircase with artistic banisters led to an upper level of the home and covered in a beautiful aqua carpet cascading down the steps as if it was a waterfall. Tables with expensive looking vases and exotic plants decorated the dark corners with rich color and cool flare. Some servants and maids were making their rounds all about. They barely paid attention to the little girl standing it their master's home.

"Wow!" Seras breathed as she stepped fully inside to take it all in. When she did, she noticed a crystal chandelier that provided an extra kick to the posh atmosphere. She wanted to start singing out of the joy she felt.

"Miss Victoria." Walter called her back from her dream world. Seras stood at attention and cocked her head to the side. "Yes Walter?"

The man pointed up the stairs to the left. "The Mistress Hellsing requested to see you as soon as you arrived. Her office is the first door on the right side."

Seras nodded and held on to the hem of her dress. She vaulted up the stairs and turned left down the hallway. Her heart was pounding in her chest and excitement had her abuzz. She was going to be meeting the lady of the house, herself!

It made her wonder what she looked like? Was she the same age as Alucard, or was she like Walter? Was she pretty? Perhaps she was serious like Miss Pennyworth and didn't like her? What would Seras do then it that was the case? Maybe she should go back and ask Walter before she made her approach.

When she walked a few paces, she came upon another set of tall double doors that were shut tight. The child patted out the wrinkles in her dress and stepped forward to close the distance between herself and the door. She figured it was now or never to answer all of her uncertainties.

Forcing her fist to rise up and meet its fate, she knocked three times. She waited for the knocks to resound down the empty hallway, clutching the fabric of her clothes like a lifeline of sorts. After a few agonizingly long seconds, did she receive an answer.

"Come in." called a sauve, familiar voice. Seras recognized it instantly as Alucard's and smiled from ear to ear. At least their was one person she knew, so it wouldn't be as scary.

Seras turned the knob on one of the doors and pushed the heavy wood in. All her butterflies fluttered into the light that blinded her momentarily.

Inside the room was a tall window that had an unbeatable view of the afternoon sky. There was a lovely carpet with intricate details stretched across a sea of black. A painting of an old man hung on one wall while another wall had a fireplace complete with a display of a shield and crossed swords. The coat of arms was strange, consisting of the standard four quartered areas with random images to describe the household it belonged to.

Sitting at the head of the room was two people. One was Alucard, lounging deeply with his feet propped up on an oak desk. The was standing tall behind the desk while looking out the window with the sunlight outlining her well-built form. The woman wore a business suit with dress pants, white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, and a black vest. Her white hair was long and flowing down her back as well as her shoulders.

Seras gulper, her earlier worries starting to resurface. Here she was, small and wearing an adorable new dress, trying to act confident in front of the head of the Hellsing family. To think she could possibly expect anything less from her guarded heart. She couldn't punch her way out of this one.

The woman at the head of the room turned around and caused Seras to gasp. On her nose was a pair of thin glasses accenting cerulean eye deeper than the sea. Her thin features and a clean tie kept up with a silver pendent added to her mature and mysterious beauty. Seras could stare at such beauty for hours on end.

Unfortunately, the woman wasn't going to let her carry out her dream. She narrowed her gaze over the rim of her glasses and clicked her tongue in an almost annoyed sort of way.

"What are you waiting for, police girl. Step up!" she commended with a snap of her fingers. Seras cut out her rude staring and hurried. "Yes ma'am!"

The girl scuttled to the front of the room with her face burning from shame. Her footsteps echoed in the silence that was left behind after the woman's harsh words deafened all else. Seras reached the head of the room in no time with her head bowed up her hands tucked behind her back, just as if she was going to see Miss Pennyworth for a scolding. At least Miss Pennyworth didn't give off any sort of dangerous air like this woman did. The desk at her front loomed over her and threatened to fall and crush her under its massive weight. Two pairs of eyes watched her fidget and dart her eyes to and fro.

How she wished that the adults were children so she could just beat them away and go hide somewhere.

Seras heard a pair of staccato shoes come from around the desk and entered her line of sight to stand right in front of her. The child dared to peek upwards to take a closer look at the woman who she would be living in the company of from now on.

Up close, her gaze was ice cold and made her squirm. Seras had to wonder if Miss Hellsing ever smiled. What did it look like? Was it as pretty as her face, or forced like most smiles were nowadays?

The new woman pushed her glasses farther up her nose and furrowed her brow. Seras flung her eyes back to the ground knowing that whenever a woman pushed her glasses up higher, they were about to scold her for something. SHe braced herself mentally to be ridiculed by this even scarier and new lady.

Instead, the woman kneeled down and gently grabbed Seras's chin. "When you are talking to people, you look far more confident when you look them in the eye, police girl."

Seras paused and let the woman lift her head up to meet her own. Now that the girl was nearly eye level with her new guardian, her anxious nerves ceased to be a problem. The lady's face had softened some and was now keeping a firm but fair hold on Sera's own face. Instead of the blazing blue that had greeted her at the door, they had become a more subtle flame akin to a candle burning in the darkness. It was strange, considering that the sun was supposed to be the brightest thing in the room.

Once done with her inspection, Miss Hellsing stood back and walked to a small table on the right side of her desk. Alucard had already situated himself, this time with his feet not propped up on the surface of the wood. The man smirked at Seras and patted to a seat right next to him. "Well, come sit down police girl."

Police girl's fear had burned away at the sound of her nickname on his tongue. She huffed and threw her arms across her chest in a crossed fashion. "My name isn't police girl! It's Seras Victoria!" she complained whilst making her way to sit down at the table.

Alucard chuckled and pulled out the seat for her. "From now on, your name will always be police girl in my eyes. Now sit down before Walter comes with something to eat."

Seras climbed onto the moderately raised chair fixed the skirt of her dress to lay flat and even. The other adult in the room took a seat right between Seras and Alucard on the far side of the table. She folded her hands and leaned forward with her full attention of Seras. It looked as if she was one of those famous detectives from the movies Seras used to watch every night with her father. At least something felt familiar to her in such a new world.

"Forgive my harshness, Seras, but I wanted to make sure you were capable of following rules in this house." She unfolded her hands and set them on her lap. "My name is Sir Integra Fairbrooks Wingate Hellsing."

The little girl gasped and perked up with surprise. "Wait, you were knighted? By the queen herself?" Integra grinned at the child's excitement and nodded. "Yes, and god save her. Everyone in the Hellsing family are eventually knighted by her majesty."

Seras's smile only grew bigger as she leaned her elbows on the table to prop up her face in her hands. "Will I become a knight one day, too?"

Miss Hellsing reached into the pocket of her vest and pulled out an expensive looking cigar. Alucard handed her a lighter and she used it to burn the tip of her rolled up tobacco and fancy paper. "If you work hard, you may."

The girl sighed at the thought of having others address her as "Sir Seras Victoria". Although, she bet Alucard would call her "Dame Police Girl", without a doubt. Integra enjoyed her smoke and continued to ask Seras questions.

"How old are you, Seras?"

Seras held up seven fingers and half held up an eighth. "I'm seven and a half! My birthday is on January 21st." The woman next to her nodded with modest approval. "Good, you can do basic math. Can you spell or recite the alphabet?"

"I can do both." Seras replied. Alucard dug in his pocket and pulled out a notepad and pen. He slid it in front of her and let her inspect the objects quickly. "I want you to write a few sentences for us, just to make sure you aren't a liar." The girl frowned, but positioned the pen in her left hand anyway. "Okay, I'm ready."

Alucard cleared his throat and thought for a moment. "I love guns. My favorite is a handgun." In no time at all, little Seras started scribbling across the paper as fast as she could.

Integra shot him an ugly look and took the cigar between her pointer and middle finger. "Alucard, we promised not to bring up guns until she was fully acquainted with the household and all of its quirks." The man shrugged and leaned back into his chair. "Her father was a police officer and an ex-colleague of mine, I'm pretty sure she knows what guns are."

"What if she goes around repeating this? Can you imagine what other people would think if she said something like that in the middle of school?" the lady persisted, frustration written all over her wrinkled forehead and sharp stare. Alucard laughed and took off his sunglasses to lay them on the table. "You married me, it can't get much worse than that."

The lady sighed and leaned back to cross her legs. "For once you say something sensible, Alucard." Said man smirked laced his fingers together on the table top. "Yes, Dear Integra."

"I'm done!" Seras cheered and handed over the notepad that was chock full. For a second when he got it, Alucard wondered if she just wrote really big. When he checked the contents of the note he once again let loose a booming laughter. Integra glared at him and took another puff of her cigar. "What is it now you fool?"

Alucard handed Integra the note and watched as her expression go from stoic to utter shock and dismay. On the sheet of paper was the bickering couple's entire conversation from the original line she had been asked to write down to the use of Alucard's pet names. She slid the notepad back over and turned her full attention to Seras. "Not a word of this to anyone, or I will lock you in the basement until you're old enough to drink. Do I make myself clear?"

Seras flinched and nodded as fast as her tiny neck would allow. "Yes ma'am!" she squeaked out.

From the entrance to the room, Walter threw the double doors open and wheeled in a gleaming metal cart. Alucard threw his arm over the back of his chair. "Good timing. Master Integra was just beginning to show her claws."

Walter gave a knowing grin and adjusted his monocle. "Well I do make an effort to assist when the situation is most dire." He wheeled his cart over to the table as Integra snuffed out her cigar on a nearby ashtray. "Thank you for serving tea Walter." The aging man nodded and brought the cart along side the table. "Always a pleasure, Sir Integra."

Seras's jaw dropped at the delectable sight before her. Three cakes sat of spotless plates with tea cups resting bottom up on separate platters. Standing tall over all the other things was a large, silver tea kettle with intricate designs decorating the outside and a swirling handle. This was the tea set straight from her dreams.

The butler could see the wonder sparkling in the child's eyes. Without waiting anymore, Walter slid a tea cup and cake in front of the girl before servicing the rest. "I didn't know what your favorite flavor was, but I hope you enjoy Raspberry Cheesecake." Seras was handed a fork and left to her own free reign.

She couldn't quite figure out where to start, eyeing every inch of the dessert as Walter then flipped over the teacups and began to fill them generously. Seras decided to give into the pure white icing and red raspberries piled on top. She dipped her fork into the cake and brought the piece to her mouth, closing her lips on the fork.

The tastes of icing and berries exploded in her mouth and caused her to drool. Her taste buds sang and danced with the pleasant sweetness of the cream cheese making her feel joy beyond words. With the already zest of the raspberries, everything from the textures and flavor made Seras want to hug the chief.

Before she continued, she looked up to Walter. "Thank you so much!" The butler nodded and urged her to eat more.

The other adults had what seemed to be a coffee cake while they watched Seras clean her plate. Integra couldn't help but let her lips curve upwards against the rim of her tea cut. It had been awhile since she had been in the close company of a child.

While the four proceeded to enjoy their lunch, Alucard knew he had made the right choice to talking his stubborn wife into adopting. While he didn't need the child as much as Integra did, he knew that good times were in for one wild ride.

"The fun is just beginning, police girl."


	2. Settling In

**Welcome back to The Police Girl. I thought I would introduce myself to y'all before we begin.**

 **I'm Graepearl, but most people call me Pearl. I've been writing fanfiction for about five years now. Don't be afraid to message me, I really like hearing your feedback to help make my writing better.**

 **I know this chapter is a bit shorter than the first one, but I really didn't want to make it too long. Plus, finals are a bitch. Cool bros?**

 **Cool, enjoy!**

"How the days have past since the first day of Seras's arrival." Walter thought aloud while he drove down the busy streets of London. It was the usual drive to another meeting with the Round Table. Sir Integra would be patiently exchanging daily news with the committee as well as receiving the latest news in return.

Additionally, the butler and the woman would veer off the business talks and steer on to more laid back topics. Such topics included Alucard's growing firearms collection and recently the child that brought new blood to the mansion.

Miss Hellsing hummed in reply and continued to watch London pass by in a blur. "It's been four weeks since you fetched her to live with us." Without another word, she went back to observing the many storefronts she may have missed in her many commutes to the weekday meeting that left very little down time for her to enjoy her remaining days that she was alive. God only knows how many days that was considering her line of work and stress level.

The butler grinned when he thought he caught a ghost of a smile in the rear-view mirror twitching at his employer's lips. Even so, he trained his attention back to the road and kept his thoughts to himself. He didn't want to press any of his lingering questions that had been clouding his mind since the mention of adoption from the white haired woman's husband. Some things were better left alone was his motto, and he wasn't about to stray from that.

Integra crossed her arms across her chest. "Is there something you would like to say about the police girl, Walter?"

The man shook his head. "No Sir Integra."

"You're lying, Walter. Speak your mind or I'll have to ask Alucard to help interrogate you."

"How amusing, Integra Fairbrooks Wingates Hellsing." Walter chuckled, making a right turn on a street marked Orange Street WC2 without disturbing the backseat rider in the least bit. "I've served you for how many years now?"

Integra lost her deadpanned expression and let a bantam grin grace her mouth. "Since my birth, Walter C. Dornez."

"Correct, my lady. And I ask, in those twenty-five years did I once lie or decieve you?"

Sir Hellsing drew from her pocket a cigar with the words 'Hendi Winzermans' on the brown paper in standard print, golden letters. She cracked open the window, a whooshing sound of the car cutting through the air entered the car. The wind created from the car's speed disturbed her blonde hair. "You're deceiving me now, that's one time."

Walter flinched and accidently stopped the car too abruptly. The action was subtle, but still noticed by the passenger. His fingers played with the wheel by tapping out different tunes while waiting his turn to go. "Nothing gets past you Sir Integra." he sighed and handed back a lighter he always kept on hand.

She accepted it and lit her cigar. After taking a nice long inhale, she let her shoulders droop and her head lean against its rest. "Tell me what's on your mind." She handed back the lighter and the butler put it back in its designated spot. Walter adjusted his monocle and started driving once more. "Why did you agree to adopt a child? That has always eluded me, the reason as to why."

It was a question that brought attention to something that even Integra had yet to figure out herself. She simply took another puff of her smoke.

"Alucard wanted to take on an heir. I agreed."

* * *

There was one thing that Seras learned when you are a child of the Hellsing family. It was at first a small detail that was hidden behind a wall of comfort and lifetime stability. Almost too hard to see like a needle in a haystack, but that haystack just happened to take up all of London. Yes, to Seras it seemed as if it was such a tiny detail yet made all the difference in how she spent most of her hazy, summer days.

Sir Integra was always gone during weekdays, bringing Walter with her as a driver.

Most children would be cheering over that fact. They had the ability to go, do, and say all that the wanted. There was no adult to boss them around or tell them no, so why not loosen up and have some fun?

Seras wasn't quite sure how to handle this miniscule revelation though. On one hand, she was free to roam about the family grounds with little restriction. She wasn't under the watchful eyes of the butler who had stopped many of her morning adventures or night walks. Master Hellsing wasn't much of the playing type and never talked that much except asking how Seras's day was going and the usual pleasantries. Now and again on the weekends she may strike a real conversation, but it was rare in the month the girl had been there.

Alucard on the other hand was more of an annoying older brother than a father figure. He always teased her with the nickname "Police girl" instead of referring to Seras by her real name. It bothered her to no end. Sometimes, he would pop in on her alone time in the library, back gardens, and even while she was sneaking snacks from the kitchen to her room in the most peculiar of ways. He would call her his pet name and make a snid comment of whatever she was doing at the time. She sometimes wondered if he was even human the way he seemed to just appear and disappear in the blink of an eye.

It was behavior befitting of a trickster, not a parent or caregiver.

But that wasn't even the oddest thing about the man. Seras would often see him go into the basement at different points in the day, everyday. Even on the weekends where he had no business to be staying at home, he always had to enter the basement and do only God knows what.

Even as Seras decided to sit outside in the late June heat, she was still trying to comprehend what he did in that basement. Those theories bubbled in her head while she took in the peacefulness of the day.

Seras laid splayed flat against the freshly cut grass with a book opened on her chest. After finishing her reading not long ago, she decided to test her imagination by making shapes out of the clouds that blocked the sun now and then. A lazy gust of wind ruffled the child's bangs to cover her eyes from seeing the puffed towers.

Without batting a lash at the small inconvenience, she brushed the stray bangs back into place and went on with her cloud watching. There were all sorts of things to see with her creativity that seemed to have far too much time on it's hands to imagine every possible situation all at once. From tigers with princesses holding parasols riding sidesaddle on their backs to kings with crowns too large for wearing around a castle, there was always something interesting or new to create. She couldn't think of one cloud as just being a limp blob in the sky.

And the best part is that she could do so with the only sounds were the white noise of midday bugs and leaves rustling on the estate tree.

Then the most peculiar and out of place event occurred.

At first, there was nothing all that exciting. There was only the sound of plants being deranged from another gust of wind. Part of Seras's clothing rippled from the gust as well, making a faint whipping noise with an accompanying snap.

Then there came a loud sound of something being thrown into the air.

Seras stopped looking at the clouds and tried to focus on where the noise had come from. To her luck, a flying object soaring through the air had caught her attention. It resembled a dinner plate, but only a touch more curved at the top. If anything, it looked more like a frisbee that Seras often saw other children play with in the park.

As quickly as it had come, there was a loud crack that caused the girl to flinch. In an instant the disk shattered into tiny pieces and fell out of sight.

Seras blinked in confusion. "What was that?" she thought aloud while getting to her feet. "It sounded like..." Without her consent, the images of _that day_ came back as she remembered each terrifying moment. The shutting of closet doors, her mother's pained screams, and the ear splitting shooting of a handgun that fired three times to end the lives of her family.

Her legs began to shake and she wrung her hands out of worry. "W-what if s-someone broke in again?"

Without wasting any more time, Seras took off across the grass to inspect what had happened. Her tiny heart was racing at the thought of another pair of criminals taking away her new life for a second time. Even so, she knew that wasn't the case.

Another disk was flung into the air. Just like the last one, there was the sound of a gunshot and the disk shattered mid-air. Gravity did its job and the remnants fell down. And and again, more disks flew into the air and were promptly taken out with precision and efficiency. The noises were closer than ever now. Her feet moved a little quicker in anticipation to find out what was going on, her dress skirt whipping at the hem from her pace.

There was a small tree line separating Seras and the source of the noise. It was a fine collection of pines with tiny gaps large enough for a child like herself to climb under. She got down on her hands and knees, hiked up her dress so it wouldn't get dirty, and crawled under the needles that skimmed across her back and tickled her neck. Her knees got dirt on them from careless placement of her body. Even so, she pressed on through the shaded area to reach the other side as fast as she could go. In her rush, her head bobbed up and got her hair caught in the low hanging branches. She didn't bat a single lash but pressed forward to her goal.

When her head broke through to the light on the opposite end of the pine tunnel, the sun blinded her for a moment. Once her eyes adjusted to the luminous sky, she saw what had been causing the controlled racket from before.

There was an open veranda with different shades of grey cobblestone covering a deck. Past the deck were small steps that led to an open field of lush green grass that was littered with the broken disks from before. Not a single disk was left untouched by what must've been a bullet. Seras scanned the whole yard with amazement. Never in her short life had she seen such carnage over a large scale of land. It made her wonder what skilled person could possibly hit every single flying disk?

"Police girl! Stand up and come here!"

Seras's blood ran cold as she slowly turned to one of the corners of the yard. Smiling a crooked with his arms crossed over his chest was Alucard in all his imposing glory. He stood next to a machine with a table-like structure and a cylinders containing stacks upon stacks of identical disks loaded in it. Size wise, it stood well over her head in height. It must've been the thing that was throwing the objects into the air.

There was no urgency in his voice, but it was still commanding enough to warrant haste. The girl got on her knees and cupped her hands together. "Coming!" she called. Seras stood up and tried her best to wipe away the dirt off her dress while she scuttled over to Alucard. When her dress was presentable, she comb out the pine needles that were tangled in her spiky blonde hair. Though she wasn't one to care about appearances, she made it a priority when around her new family.

Seras stopped in front of Alucard with her hands behind her back and her eyes meeting his orange glasses. "I'm sorry, sir. I heard gunshots and got curious." She shifted on her feet under the man's gaze. In the back of her mind, she wanted to curl back up into the grass like before and leave him alone.

Alucard patted Seras's head and gave it a small rub. "Curiosity may have killed cat, but it didn't kill you." The child sunk a bit under the hand, but stood her ground with steady legs. "But next time, do try not to climb under pine trees. That's how clothes get ruined." Seras giggled and grinned a toothy grin. "Okay!"

The fear from before had melted away, replaced with questions on what her father figure was doing with such a strange machine. She peeked through her bangs that had been pushed down further from the gloved hand to point at the contraption.

"Sir, what's that thing?" she asked. Alucard took his hand away and smirked. "Don't tell me you don't know what trap shooting is."

Seras shrugged and stepped closer to inspect the trap shooting machine. "I've never seen anything like this." She could hear Alucard come up behind her and saw his hand lay on the gleaming metal of the shooting arm.

"This thing is used in a sport called trap shooting." He pointed to the stack of cylinders with disks in the center. "These cylinders feed the clay disks into a place where they're shot into the sky. Once they're in the sky, the shooter tries to bring them down with a gun." He peered down at Seras and retracted his hands into his pockets. "Are you getting this, police girl?"

Seras nodded "Yes sir."

"Good." Alucard turned away from the girl and walked over to a nearby deck table that had various guns of all shapes and sizes. There were also multiple types of ammunition that must've matched up with a gun on the table. Seras could only recognize a rifle that was similar to one her father had brought home. She couldn't remember when he did, but the memory was still there in the back of her mind.

Among the firearms. was a pair of handguns that were black and white with alternating colored text engraved on the side of the barrel. She couldn't read some of the words, but she could make one phrase on the black gun that read "Jesus Christ is in Heaven now" in striking white letters. It made her wonder what those words personally meant to him.

Alucard went to the machine and flipped some switches and buttons. It hummed to life and the cylinders readjusted. In that time, Alucard had raised one gun above his head and pointing out to the firing range, the white one with black letters. "Watch and learn, police girl."

Seras brought her attention to the sky and waited for the disks to fly into the air. There was a second of silence, nothing seemed to move. Even the breeze from before ceased to make any appearance or hinder the bullets about to be shot. Alucard stood patiently and waiting for what may happen next.

In an instant, two disks flew out of the machine and soared high into the sky. Seras swore that they could touch the clouds because they had gone so far. She was almost worried that the gun's range wasn't side enough to hit the targets getting farther and farther by the second.

She heard Alucard chuckle and a click before everything happened.

Without even having to move too far, Alucard shot two bullets at the clay. Within a few seconds, Seras saw them shatter mid flight and fall to the earth below. It was a perfect shot that she could never hope in her child-like mind to make from the distance they were at.

Two more disks shot out of the machine. Just like the last two, they went far away at alarming speeds. And just as the last two, they were swiftly dealt with in a matter of time.

Seras watched in wonder as each and every disk went flying, was broken, and the process repeating for a number of minutes. Each time, she could feel her head pound at the sound of the gunshots, hear the bangs ring in her eardrums, watch the barrel of the slide back and forth as each bullet made its way to the target. The fear she once felt from guns had melted away and left her mesmerized by the moving parts and perfection of his craft. There was nothing to be afraid of.

After a few more rounds, the cylinder had been drained of all its disks and stopped. The humming of the inner workings ceased and left Seras's ears still echoing all that she had taken in. To say that she wasn't partially deaf was a lie.

Alucard lowered his gun and turned to Seras. "That is how you trap shoot. Are there any questions?" Seras took a moment to think. While she took her time, he stashed away his guns for the time being.

When his attention returned to Seras, the girl nodded. "Can I try?"

Alucard coughed while trying to hold something back, but began to chuckle anyway. Soon he was hysterically crowing with his head thrown back. Seras puckered her lips and shifted on her feet while he creeped her out with his hilarity at the situation. Her mind told her to run far away and never come back, but another part of her wanted to stay rooted where she was. Who knows, maybe he thought it was cute and was going to teach her.

Instead, Alucard had gotten over the worst of his fit but continued to snigger under his breath. "You're only a child, no older than seven! You' remind me of a little Integra only younger than when she decided to grow a thicker skin!" he hooted while patting the child's shoulder.

Seras could feel her cheeks flush in embarrassment. She never meant to act like Sir Integra, but ended up getting compared to her anyway was almost too much of an honor for her. She always thought she would never be as tough as Hellsing patriarch. The comparison felt almost wrong and mismatched, as if it was a dissonance note on a piano.

Alucard walked back over to his table of guns and ammo. From the collection he pulled out a slightly smaller handgun from of the bunch. He checked over the firearm, from the butt to the muzzle, nothing was left uninspected. Once the gun was given a once over, Alucard walked back over to Seras. He pressed the gun onto her hands and got on a knee to lay a hand over the metal.

"This is a Glock 17 with 9 by 19 millimeter Parabellum rounds. It was my first handgun when I joined the force and served me until I received my current 'pick of poison'." He set Seras's hands in the correct position and set her to aim towards the open practice area. When she was facing the way he wanted, he rested the gun on one arm and the other on top of the girl's shoulder. "I don't expect perfection so stay focused and calm. This beauty can survive anything if you accidently drop it."

Seras gulped and nodded. "Okay, but I'll try not to drop it." Alucard hummed in approval. "Now look through the sights. Try to aim on a specific target."

"Got it." Seras could feel her arms quiver with anticipation. She surprised herself with how calm she was while holding the same type of weapon that had taken her parents lives, marred her gut, and made her body recoil slightly just at the sound. Strangely, she also felt confident that she was able to control the gun she held. It was in her control now to do with it what she was asked.

Her sights were set on a good sized tree on one end of the yard, just a bit off to the side. She aimed at one of the branches and took a deep breath. The beating of her heart hammered in her ears as she let her finger tap the trigger lightly. Alucard could see her eyes find their target and grinned.

"Once you're ready, squeeze the trigger. Don't pull it though. Only idiots do that." Seras nodded. "Yes sir."

The branch stemming off the tree was all she could see, the rest blurring into the distance behind and at the sides of her vision. The smooth metal under her skin was all that she could feel despite the ground beneath her shoes. Even her own heart beat that once thundered in her chest became a dull thrumming. " _Was this what it felt like when Alucard shot?"_ Seras thought.

All at once, her finger twitched and squeezed the trigger.

Everything happened all at once. There was a deafening bang that made the girl's ears ring like a billion church bells. The gun recoiled but thankfully it didn't fall from her hands. On the other hand, the recoil did cause Alucard's hand on her shoulder tightened to steady Seras from falling backwards.

It took her a moment to find where she was, but Seras regained her balance as the ringing began to die down. She felt a twinge of worry rise within her before she could assess her how she did. Where did the bullet go? Did she hit the branch? What is she hit something else? All those questions and more wizzed around her head at the speed of the slug she had fired mostly on her own.

When she scanned her target, she was surprised to find that the branch was blown to smithereens. A smile crossed Seras's face and she lit up as if Christmas came early.

"I did it! I can't believe I did it!" she cheered silently to herself. Alucard smirked and took the Glock from her shaking hands. "You were a bit sloppy, but you still have time to work on technique and stance as you get more accustomed to your shooting style." He blew on the muzzle and walked back over to the table. Seras followed with a giddy skip in her step.

"You're going to let me try again?" she asked, placing her hands behind her back. Alucard set down the gun and turned back to Seras. "Tomorrow, we'll work on stance." The man thought for a moment while adjusting his unusual glasses. "I suppose you'll need a gun more suited to your weight class. Walter always kept an airsoft gun around, so I will train you with that."

Alucard pulled one of the two chairs pushed close to the table. He motioned for Seras to sit and pulled out his own seat. "Of course just shooting off guns won't prepare you for more high powered firearms. You'll need to build up your other muscles too. Of course I'll start training up not only your marksman skills, but physical ability as well."

Seras perked up and swung her legs. "Are you going to make me your apr-apren?" she tried to say but failed on the long word at the end. Alucard chuckled and finished her sentence by correcting her mispronunciation. "The word is 'apprentice', and yes. No more beating up little punk brats. I'm going to teach you to take on much bigger fish, police girl."

"Hey! Stop calling me police girl!"

* * *

The family of three sat at the dining room table, enjoying their evening meal. Walter was nearby and ready to swoop in to prepare seconds or refill a beverage. Integra and Alucard were bickering about adult topics while Seras enjoyed her fruit punch that the butler had convinced Sir Hellsing to let her have for dinner that night.

"Parliament are a bunch of idiots who've never worked a single day in their boring lives." Integra exclaimed, rubbing her forehead with one hand and a glass of wine clutched in the other. Alucard chuckled and shrugged. "That is why I prefer to do the field work. In a search and destroy, you shoot first and take their shit later."

His wife rolled her eyes and took another gulp of her drink of choice. "It's a shame there hasn't been another 'unusual case' since the incident with the 'Jack-the-Ripper-wannabe'." Alucard leaned back in his chair. "That's the way things are nowadays. Crime just doesn't seem to be as complicated as it used to be." He sighed and picked up his own glass of wine. He raised it to Integra and smirked. "To hoping for some fun?"

Sir Hellsing scoffed but clinked her glass with Alucard's. "To hoping you'll show some bloody mercy." Their glasses met and the soft ring echoed through the room. The sound died too quickly.

There was another long pause leaving everyone to sneak in some bites of food. The meal consisted of pork in a heavy reduction sauce with mashed potatoes as a side. Seras was piling in the dish as if it was the last thing she was going to eat. One hairy eye-ball glance from Walter made her blush and slow down her rampage.

Integra finished her plate and let Walter take it away. She took out a cigar and lighter. Flicking open the silver box, she made a tiny flame and proceeded to indulge on the smoke she seemed to treat as air.

The woman focused on Seras and decided to strike a conversation.

"Police girl." she asserted. The girl looked up and scrunched her nose. "Why does everyone call me that?" she mumbled and set down her fork. "What is it, Miss Integra?"

Integra took a long drag off her cigar. She blew out a ring of smoke and took a deep breath. "What did you entertain yourself with during the nice day today?" Seras smiled and bounced a little in her seat. She wiped her mouth clean on her napkin and jumped into her story.

"At first, I explored the garden a bit. I got bored and decided to finish that book you suggested I read. When I finished that, I laid out under the clouds and tried to create pictures in the sky!" she proclaimed. Integra tried to act interested even though she such activities other than reading to be a waste of her time. Her business attitude that she had developed over the years overtook the once skittish personality that she once held onto so dearly.

Seras then launched into the highlight of her day. "But then I heard a loud noise from across the yard. I went to investigate and found Alucard shooting at flying disks!" Integra's interest peeked at the mention of Alucard and his role in the story.

"He told me that he was trap shooting and he even showed me how it was done. He didn't even miss a single disk, can you believe it?" Alucard smirked and leaned on the table with one elbow. "Do go on, police girl." he said in an almost sing-song voice. His wife shot him a dirty look before turning back to Seras.

"And finally, he taught me how to shoot!" Sir Hellsing had to stop her teeth from grinding into the paper of her cigar. She glared at Alucard while Seras continued the story. "You won't believe it, I actually shot a branch off a tree. I was so proud of myself! Alucard promised to teach me more and be his appre-something!"

Integra took a moment to breath before turning to Alucard. He was smirking as if he had won a private tropical island for free. How Integra wished she could smash his smug face into the wood of the table, but she didn't care much about having Walter cleaning up the amount of blood that would spill. Instead, she deadpanned and closed her twitching eyes.

"One day I will regret this."


	3. School

**Hello again everyone. I know that last chapter was a bit short (just shy 4600-ish words) but you know how bitchy finals get.**

 **Also, it was brought to my attention that I accidently used the word patriarch to describe Integra. The proper word to use was matriarch. I know that patriarch means the male head of the house, but let's be honest with ourselves: Integra has some of the biggest balls in the entire show. She is also given the title Sir Integra Hellsing, not Dame Integra Hellsing. It just made sense.**

 **Du hast keine Angst, meinen freund! I promise to never make silly mistakes like that ever again. I will be sending my work to a Beta Reader from now on. Enjoy the new chapter!**

Seras smoothed the black skirt that was her uniform for her new school. Walter buttoned up her black blazer with the institution's insignia over her heart. The butler suggested she wear leggings that covered the entire length of her legs do to the cooling temperatures. Her shoes of choice were a pair of black ballet flats that she could both run in and still look darling.

Today was Seras's first day of school and she was dancing in about the house for days at the prospect of meeting new people. It was a catholic school run by an iffy staff, but it was also one of the best schools in the country. Education was a high priority in the Hellsing family and Sir Integra had no time to provided home school. Her husband thought no better of them, knowing some of the questionable going on's in the background.

But reluctantly, the couple agreed that they would cut their loses and send her off to the place. It wasn't the worst thing in the world considering none of the shady business involved the students themselves. Seras wouldn't be roped into the background.

Once her jacket had been buttoned and her backpack on, Alucard walked into the main entrance where the two were getting ready to go off to the school. The man smirked and walked towards them with a gun clearly being stuffed into his own jacket.

"I may hate the school, but the uniform suits you, police girl." Seras stuck out her tongue at the insistence he use the nickname 'police girl'. Even Miss Hellsing and the staff joined in and called her by the silly name.

Seras threw her arms around Walter's neck. "This is why Walter's my favorite!" she teased with a giggle. Alucard rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Say that again and you won't be getting any Raspberry Cheesecake until you move out."

Little Victoria let go of Walter. She stomped over to her mentor and pounded her tiny fists on Alucard's leg. "You can't do that! Only Miss Integra can do that!" she complained. "She's way cooler than you!"

"Right you are, police girl." Integra called as she walked by with a clipboard of a new crime that must've popped up no doubt. Seras stood victorious at an unamused crazy person. "Told you so, vampire man!" She was pleased with her own nickname that she had taken to calling him recently as revenge.

He readjusted his orange shades and went off with Sir Integra, done with the girl's triumph over his ego. Just as he was about to disappear around a corner, he threw back an offhanded and sadistic comment. "Just remember who is overseeing your after school activities tonight."

Seras paled and felt faint. Whenever she trained with Alucard during the summer days, she had found his methods fairly unpleasant and almost deadly. While she was glad she was learning useful skills such as combat and firearms that she could use in case she was in trouble, it got out of hand nine times out of ten.

One time, Seras had tried to shoot a clay pigeon out of the sky. Alucard thought it would be funny to give her a gun twice her size just to watch her struggle in setting up the tripod using vague instructions to guide her hands. All in all, the stand fell over after the first shot and recoiled into her shoulder. She was lucky to get out with just a bruise.

Obstacle courses, long distance runs, even surprise attacks from Walter and the vampire man had her constantly on her toes. There was not a moment of rest for the poor girl except after nine o'clock, her designated bedtime. If Alucard even thought about about having another on the fly training session, Sir Integra swooped in with her iron fists and the threat of slicing a 'vulnerable' organ off his body with a rusty spoon.

That usually shut him up, whatever that organ was.

Walter stood back up and opened up the double doors, Seras in tow. The child skipped down the steps of the manor while the butler had no trouble making long strides to the car pulled up next to the large house. It was no shock when Walter reached the car first and climbed into the driver's seat.

Seras came up next to sit in the passenger seat. While she was under aged and too short for the seat, she sat there anyway much to Integra's dislike. Still, the girl sat up front insisting she was mature enough to do so. Alucard could care less as long as he got to toy with her by making her run laps around the mansion fifty or so times without stopping.

They buckled up and Seras ran a hand through her bangs so she could look through the glove box for a hidden CD that Walter had made just for when the two of them were alone in the car. After a minute of digging, she found a clear case containing a shiny disk. In permanent marker, the words 'Seras's Favorite Songs' was printed neatly across the face of the disk.

The girl flicked open the case and handed the disk it to Walter. In turn, the butler slid the CD into the player. There was a couple of beats of silence before a the sound of 'Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds' began to resound through the cadillac.

Without anymore hesitation, Walter drove the car off the grounds and into the city of London. For the duration of the ride, Seras sung softly to every song and clapped along to the beat. The driver hummed and acted as backup for the real star of the car. The CD had everything from the Beatles, Elton John, and even Amy Winehouse. Her favorites of the favorites were always the jazz and blues. It was no surprise she wanted to be a singer if she didn't become something else, belting out on stage like a pro.

Of course, she still wasn't sure what she wanted to be yet. Thankfully, all she worried about was just being a kid. It had been awhile since she had ever felt this happy with life.

The ride was far too short for Seras because she could see the church styled school coming up fast on her right side. There was even a bell tower and cathedral of sorts connected to the classrooms. Children of varied ages crowded around the courtyard in groups of two to tens at a time. It was hard to spot a single person without another at their side. Those her were alone seemed unapproachable and disconnected to all other things.

Seras gulped and clutched her black backpack. She was glad that the uniform was mostly black; it made it easier to blend into the background shadows, just like Alucard had taught her. Plus, the outer walls of the building looked easy to scale just in case she needed to escape out the window for a quick breath of air.

"There will be no climbing around like an uncivilized monkey, Seras Victoria." Walter said in that knowing voice of his. Seras huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I wasn't going to." The older man chuckled and pulled the car over in front on the gate. "That's what you said when you promised not to sass Alucard while he trained you over the summer. And where did I find you?"

The girl blushed and sunk into her seat at the memory. "I climbed a tree and couldn't get down."

"And you learned your lesson not to run away," he recalled with his wrinkled grin. "But to work hard and face those fears with a the confidence of a giant."

Seras nodded and swung her door open. She stepped out onto the sidewalk and turned back just as Walter rolled down the window. "Remember to make some friends, Miss Victoria." The window went back up and Seras waved as Walter drove away.

She let out a shaky breath and faced the school with her feet planted firmly on the concrete. Her blue eyes blazed with determination and her heart was burning to finish out today alive. The very thought of meeting new people made her swing her backpack onto her shoulders and urge her feet to move forward in long strides. As she took the first step into the school yard, she thought to herself "How bad can school be?"

* * *

"And that concludes our short welcome ceremony. Please refer to your schedules and head to home room for orientation." an old man instructed at the head of the church sanctuary. Seras had fallen into a trance until she heard that the lengthy, two hour welcome assembly was finally over.

The same man raised his hands and gave a warm smile to all the student and teachers standing by. His voice echoed through the room one last time before releasing to student to their next class. "Go in peace and serve the lord."

Everyone attending made the cross symbol while Seras watched in confusion at the church protocol. In one unified voice, the people said "Thanks be to God!"

Seras took mental note for the Wednesday assemblies to do what they just did correctly. In fact, she practiced the hand motion of the cross a few times before her pew was excused to to leave the sanctuary. The sea of children practically engulfed Seras in a forest of legs and shoes that seemed to never end. To make matters worse, everyone in her row were much older than her and were too tall to notice her small form trying to keep herself from getting killed.

The girl had to think on her feet. She saw an opening where if she was just fast enough, escape was almost guaranteed. Seras didn't waste anytime and ducked her head to race through the throng of people.

Eventually, she made it out of the pew and jogged to one of the exists and pulled out her schedule. Her room was on the first floor, 112A. She swung her head from side to side trying to look for some kind of map to guide her way. Unfortunately, the halls were bustling with students trying to get to their classes as well. It was near impossible to see a lot with her being only three and a half feet tall.

She tried her best to move with the crowd and find a starting point. What she knew was that she was currently on the first floor, but the numbers on the doors were from 120-129A. Seras couldn't understand what she was doing wrong. The clock was ticking and class was starting in five minutes with or without her. At the pace Seras was going, she was going to walking in late with her tail between her legs and everyone staring at her.

While she was deep in thought, someone bumped into her and accidently knocked her to the ground. Seras was no stranger getting pushed to the ground, but at least she usually saw the people doing to pushing before hand so she could at least prepare to hit the floor. This time, the girl smacked her face right into the ground.

Seras groaned as a sharp pain spread across her shoulder. Her head was spinning slightly from the impact and her neatly combed hair had become disturbed.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" a soft voice called. Seras got on her knees and rubbed her aching shoulder. A hand reached out in front of her which called the girl to the attention of two other students standing in front of her. One was tall with a hat that rested just above her big and round glasses that brought out the cutest brown eyes . The hat couldn't hide glossy black hair that reached all the way down her back in thick waves. The other girl beside her was far shorter and had equally cut hair that only barely reach the beginning of her neck and a light blonde. She wore a smaller pair of glasses that reminded Seras of the kind that Integra wore herself.

The taller of the two gave a bright smile when she made eye contact with Seras. "I'm sorry, are you okay?"

Seras was entranced by the beautiful girl standing with her hand outstretched. Not wanting to be rude, the police girl took the hand and was hauled to her feet. She righted her bangs and nodded to the pair of students. "It was my fault, I wasn't looking where I was going."

The shorter girl huffed and turned her nose up at Seras. "Exactly, idiot."

"Hey, that was rude!" Seras whined and stamped her foot. "You shouldn't call other people stupid because that's a mean thing to say!" The light haired girl hissed and matched the stance Miss Victoria took. "I don't say anything that isn't true, unlike you."

"Stop being mean!"

"Stop being dumb!"

The two smaller girls glared each other while some of the passerbys glanced at the confrontation with interest in their looks. The raven haired girl cleared her throat and laid a hand on each of the girl's' shoulders. Both looked up and were stunned when they saw their upperclassman's radiant face. "Now ladies, violence solves nothing. Can't we get along?"

Without another word, both blondes backed away from one another while the older girl was pleased with her work. She turned to Seras and extended her hand out once more. "My name is Yumiko Takagi. I'm from Japan, but I'm staying with a friend of my mother for the time being." She then used her other hand to point at her companion. "That there is Heinkel Wolfe. She's from Germany and staying with her Uncle Alex." Said German rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. The easterner on the other hand smiled and extended her arm for a handshake. "What's your name?"

The police girl stared at the hand wearily before taking it in greeting. "Seras Victoria. I'm new to the city."

Yumiko nodded and let her hands fold in front of her body. "Do you need help? When I ran into you, I noticed that you were looking at your schedule in a really confused way."

Seras nodded and handed the older girl her schedule. "I can't find my class. Can you point me to the right place?" The hat wearing student nodded without a single hitch in accepting the request and Seras's paper. "Of course, it's the least I can do."

She scanned over the sheet of paper. After fully dissecting the whole schedule, the dark haired girl grinned and held onto Heinkel's hand. "You're in luck. You and Heinkel are going to be classmates!"

Heinkel and Seras stared in horror at one another with mouths gaping wide open. Yumiko grinned a goofy grin and handed back to schedule with blissful ignorance. "Well isn't that going to be fun!" She began to walk away towards the end of the hallway with a skip in her step. "Who knows, you may end up as friends!"

Both of the younger girl's huffed and followed the Asian as she went on her merry way. They stared daggers from the corners of their eyes as they walked side by side at a distance from one another.

* * *

Seras and Heinkel sat side by side in the principal's office. An imposing teacher stood over the pair with a menacing eyes that seemed to slice through the pair of scowling girls. He wore what seemed to be a gym teacher get up that showed off all sorts of muscle off.

The headmaster of the school sat with a nameplate reading 'Enrico Maxwell' engraved in reflective bronze. His white hair was tied into a long ponytail with a suit that made him look as if he was made of a million bucks. While not as intimidating as the gym teacher, he held his own dangerous feeling around himself.

The girl's continued shooting daggers at each other with their arms crossed over their chest and shoulders hunched up in disgust for the other. Their overseer finally snapped after Heinkel was about to open her mouth for another insult.

"Both of you have disgraced this school!" he cried, throwing his arms in the air with all the Irish rage he had in his body. "Starting a fight in class then trying to wrestle during in my gymnasium!" The man shot an especially nasty look at Heinkel. "I expected so much more from you, my child! Have I taught you nothing, Wolfe?"

She bit her lip and looked away from the angry teacher. "I'm sorry Father Anderson." Suddenly, her shame turned to hatred as the short haired child jumped from her seat and pointed an accusing finger at Seras. "She is the one who has disgraced the holy name of the school! She punched me first!"

Seras too jumped out of her seat and pointed right back at Heinkel. "You called my adoptive family trash and my birth family dirt! If that's honour, then you're sick in the head!"

"Urchin head!"

"Four eyes!"

"Scum!"

"Dummy!"

Heinkel lunged at Seras and tackled her to the floor of the office. Father Anderson tried to break them up by force with Maxwell sitting emotionless behind his desk. Even though the children kicked and tugged at each other's hair, somehow the gym teacher hoisted them by their collars while they squirmed and scratched at the space between them in a fruitless effort to try and continue their fight.

Father Anderson groaned and pinned both girls back into their seats. "I don't care who started it, both of you are in huge trouble!" He glanced back and forth to look each girl in the eyes. "Whether or not you believe in the same thing shouldn't matter." Anderson laid his ginormous hand over Heinkel's head and turned her attention to him. "We all live in the same, small world where we must coexist. Isn't that what I taught you, Wolfe?"

The Wolfe girl shook her head out of his grasp. "But she's not even a part of the Catholic faith. How can she be trusted?"

Enrico took the opportunity to step in now that Father Anderson had lost control of his own pupil. There was no salvaging the broken connection through the catholic child's rage against Seras. He laid a hand on the German's shoulder and threw her a cold look. "Heinkel, do you remember the parable of the Kind Samaritan?"

Heinkel peered up the headmaster and gave a small eye roll before answering. "Yes..."

"And do you know the message of the story?"

Again she paused with a sour expression on her face. "Love thy neighbor and show compassion to thine enemy..." she mummered to the carpet.

Father Anderson rubbed his face from the stress that the two bickering children had put him under, and it was only the first day of school. He shared a look with the principal. Maxwell nodded and the Father leaned down to pat his child's shoulder gently. "You may leave now. The day is almost over."

Heinkel stood up and retrieved her backpack that was leaning against the leg of the chair. Before she left, the teacher added one last request. "Make sure to add Seras to your prayers. If you can't say something nice, get help from Yumiko." Heinkel bowed her head in compliance. Without another word, she left Seras to the lion's den that was her headmaster and radical gym coach.

Enrico turned his full criticism on Seras with Father Anderson in tow. "I understand that you are new to this school, but must you resort to violence at the first insult?"

Seras curled back into her chair and avoided eye contact with either adult. Both of the men waited patiently for the child's answer that they knew very well may never come to light. They had lived and taught long enough to know her type and what they do to survive the school environment. There was also the fact that she hadn't attended a Christian private school with an already tight knit web of people who knew each each other far longer.

The headmaster hummed and leaned back in his chair. "Tell me Seras, is there something bothering you?" He was met with another bout of silence and shut lips that left the room buzzing from the lack of noise. Again he asked her "Seras, is something the matter?"

This time, Seras played with her fingers and looked up to meet her principal's gaze. "No...I just want to go home."

Enrico nodded and rested his arms on the desk. Some papers he had been busying himself with earlier lay in neat piles and stapled at the corner. His pens were lined up like toy soldiers of a battle field, ready to move out at the drop of a hat and the beat of a drum. "You got your wish. Your family is coming to pick you up. We called them and let them know what happened."

" _Oh no!"_ Seras screamed in her head. If Sir Integra knew what she did, she was toast! She could already see her disappointed face telling her that her after dinner sweets were as good as gone. Not to mention Alucard was going to make her run until her legs were nothing a jelly sticks supporting a panting mess of a girl. Even Walter will jump on the punishment bandwagon and make Seras help him polish vampire man's handguns Jackal and Hide with nothing but a toothbrush and spit until she could see her face in the metal.

Hell was coming and Seras wanted to run and hid.

Without any regard to social tact, the little girl clasped her hands together and started to panic. "Please don't! I promise I won't do it aga-"

Suddenly the door swung open and Seras could already feel the cold eyes of Miss Hellsing bearing down on the back of her head. She turned around in her seat and saw those cold blue irises full of disappointment. The woman's hands were in the pockets of her long coat, but Seras knew that they were in fists. Beside the head of Hellsing was Walter and Alucard standing just behind her as if they were shadows.

Seras felt remorse as if it were the sting of a bee on her soul. Her shoulders drooped even further when her family entered the room and stood behind her chair. From where she sat, the student could almost feel their frustration.

Sir Integra was the first person to speak up in her business voice that was rough and jagged just listening to it. "I want you _and_ Miss Victoria to tell me everything that happened."

The headmaster threw on a sullen glare and folded his hands on the desk. "Seras had gotten into a fight with another student today during gym class. Apparently the other girl had insulted her about your family. In gym class, Miss Wolfe whispered something, but we still don't know what. The two then proceeded to get in a fist fight. As punishment, both of them now have to spend lunch in detention with Father Anderson."

Alucard grumbled and rested a hand on the back of Seras's chair. "I don't see why Seras is in the wrong. Her family was insulted so she simply defended them. I know for a fact that Seras only fights when the other person does something to deserve it."

Father Anderson scoffed and stared the group of four down. "I saw it happen. Heinkel whispered the insults to her and then the lass threw the first punch. Explain how a whisper equals violence, boy?" The sneer in the teacher's voice was unmistakable. It was a glaring show of overconfidence that made Alucard's blood start to simmer.

"I don't appreciate being called a boy by you, Alexander Anderson." The room grew tense at the use of the teacher's full name being said aloud. Seras could hear knuckles cracking as if another fight was just beginning to brew. Not wanting the situation to get any worse, she raised her head finally admitted what had been uttered to her.

"She told me to go die."

The mood in the room and been stilted as all the thoughts of confrontation flew out the window and to the breeze. Seras could feeling her pulse race at the statement that left the adult speechless in it's wake of destruction.

"She told me that I shouldn't go to this school. After I asked her to go away, she said that."

Seras felt a hand pat her head and ruffle her hair. "See, I told you so. We taught her better than that."

"That still doesn't excuse the fact that she beat up a student. She should have ignored the comment and gone on with her day." Enric reasoned, unfolding his hand to gesture towards Seras. "We can't have our students solving all their unpleasantries with brawling. We are just trying to keep the peace."

Integra nodded and reached across the headmaster's desk with her hand open wide. "Thank you for shedding some light on this situation." Maxwell took her hand and they shared a firm shake. "It will not happen again." Seras could see a tiny hint of disdain under the deliberate nature her mother figure always seemed to have.

The girl also caught a feeling of superiority from her new headmaster. She couldn't quite place what exactly the feeling was, but she knew that there was something off about the man in that one moment. "Thank you, Sir Integra Hellsing. I hope to see you in the near future. Perhaps on less 'concerning' terms?"

* * *

Seras sat once again in the front seat of the car on her way to school. It had been a week since the fight with Heinkel and things were starting to fall into place. Of course, Integra had had grounded her for the next month from any sort or dessert of treat. She also had to assist with Walter's butlering duties for an unforeseen amount of time. The punishment would end when Sir Hellsing deemed her worthy of her privileges back. Just as she had guessed, Seras had to run and extra two laps around the mansion with Alucard making sure she didn't stop for anything. At least they didn't restrict her alone time in her room.

Heikel and her had a silent agreement to avoid being on speaking terms at all times of the day, everyday. By coincidence, their main teacher had split the two up with Seras taking a window seat and Wolfe was nearest to the door. Whenever the sour student and her older friend, Yumiko walked by, the police girl would always give a greeting to the sweeter one of the two. Heinkel would just roll her eyes and stick to their unspoken treaty.

Seras hugged her backpack closer to her chest and rested her chin on top of it. She tried to make friends on her first day, but instead got labeled as a troublemaker by Father Anderson, singled out in the middle of class by the other students, and sentenced to a degrading lunch detention for the next month.

"Stop slouching, Miss Victoria. It is unbecoming of a young lady such as yourself."

Seras snapped up from her thoughts and righted her posture until it was acceptable to her standards. Despite the quick correction, her cheeks heated up from embarrassment from being called out by Walter. "S-sorry! I forgot!" She faced forward and bit her bottom lip before she could let her mind ramble off on its own.

Her driver chuckled at her nervous behavior and patted the blonde's spiky hair. "Keep your head on, you're not in trouble for sitting as if you were raised in a barn." Seras puckered her lips but still enjoyed her head getting a comforting rub by one of her favorite people in the world. "I'm sorry I panicked." She giggled and played with the shoulder straps of her backpack. "I guess I was thinking too hard."

Walter brought his free hand back to the steering wheel and continued to drive on. "If you don't mind my asking, what is it that ales you?" He took a right hand turn effortlessly after finishing his sentence.

"I'm fine, really." she muttered half-heartedly. Still keeping her straight back, she tried to look smaller than her seven year-old body would allow her to be. Walter shook his head and pulled into a roundabout. "If you are fine, then why are you try to hide as if you are two millimeters tall?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Walter pulled out of the roundabout and could see the looming towers of the school through the windshield. The pointed spires seemed to piece the dreary clouds and just barely skim the heavens. Their dark, faded panels casted even darker shadows on the crowded courtyard below them, engulfing the people in natural darkness. It reminded him of a time in his life that was similar to the way he knew that Seras was feeling.

"I know that you children these days want to bottle up your feelings and stuff them deep down into some dark hole in your head. But you must remember that even adults need help once and awhile."

Seras once again retreated to clutching her backpack. Her heart sank a little thinking about what she wanted to say. Back and forth she toyed with the idea of gushing her innermost grievances with her other classmates or simply saying that it was the morning blues. Deep down she knew that the latter was a fib and Walter, being the human equivalent of a mechanical lie detector, could spot it from a mile away. The former option might make her look like a weak child who couldn't handle the social pressures of school life.

In the end, she gave into her need to speak out for her heavy soul. She hung head and rested her chin on her pack.

"Nobody likes me at school." Seras ignored her posture and curled her body around her backpack. "I know that I hit Heikel and got into a fight, but everyone treats me like some sort of monster," she mumbled while hugging her pack closer still and burying her face in the material, "like I'm not even human anymore."

Walter shrugged his shoulders and pulled up to the curb next to the school gate. The school's motto "In God's name we stand" was looming over children walking in. It almost threatened to crush anyone who would go against those words. He shook off the dreaded feeling and turned the car completely off. The butler turned to Seras and took both of her hands in his worn, calloused ones.

"Now listen well and answer me this, Miss Victoria." His old amber eyes sparked up as he bore into the confused blues of the girl. Seras could feel them burn brightly through the gloom of the day is if they were ablaze for real. Those eyes belonged to someone who has fought and seen enough in life to give proper advice to the next group of humans. The very thought made her shudder on the inside.

"Not everyone person in that school is going to like you. Children are just too-just too..." he trailed off while thinking of his next lines, "they are stupid, judgmental pricks who have no idea that their actions have repercussions." Walter laid a hand over his heart as his face changed from its usually calm demeanor to sullen. "Children are also afraid of those who can overpower them easily in a fight and with words. Why do you think that most children try to avoid contact with adults that aren't their parents?"

The older man straightened up and pointed to Seras's head. "I know you think you're alone right now and being a child is terrible, but you mustn't think you are on your own." She went crosseyed to follow where the wrinkled finger was trying to direct to, but her vision couldn't quite make the cut and only caught his hand and the beginning of the knuckles. "Alucard, Integra, and I have all experienced what you are feeling before in one form or another. It is who we are, what we strive to be in a world full of others who turn their backs." He retracted his hands and clicked the locks on the car doors to permit Seras to exit the vehicle. "You are a proud member of the Hellsing family and daughter to both London's most reliant knight and her psychotic lapdog."

"You are not alone, so please don't refrain from speaking about this with us."

Seras grinned and nodded. "Okay, thank you Walter!"

Walter smiled back and waved his hand as if to shoo the child away. "Now off to school with you before you miss a day of learning."

* * *

"So class," a nun droned on while pointing the the black board with her wooden ruler, "knowing that you can combine sentences together with a comma and a conjunction, where would the coma go in this sentence?" She pointed to a phrase on the board that read 'The black was strong but the fly was small' in white chalk.

The group of children shuffled in their seats, trying to avoid eye contact with the teacher at all costs. No one wanted to get called on for fear of failure to answer the question. They may be labeled as snotty, bratty first graders, but at least they knew the basics of self-preservation and protection of their miniscule pride. Plus, they knew the bell was about to ring for lunch. If they could stick their waiting game out until then, they would make it out without having to say a word.

Their teach on the other hand could tell by the prolonged silence that she wasn't getting an answer without a little push from her part. Seras could see her brow furrow deeper and deeper by the second as her crow-like gaze swept over the children. The girl could tell she was about to pick a victim rather than wait for the bell to answer back. She pushed her glasses up her nose and trained her eyes straight at Seras. The woman pointed a bony finger at her and crinkled her nose in disgust.

"Miss Victoria." The nun walked over the Seras's desk and placed a piece of chalk on the wooden surface.

"Please go up to the board and answer the place a comma where it is needed."

Everyone let out a sigh of relief as Seras stood up from her chair with the chalk gripped in her fist tightly. As she walked by other students to her doom, they whispered back and forth small bets on if she would get the right answer or not. According to the louder of the voices, the odds were not if her favor.

When she finally made up to the front, she stared at the sentence on the board and let her brain take over the rest. On one hand, she knew from the teacher that the comma usually comes before the conjunction and second sentence. There was another possibility that it could also be a trick question. The teacher would often ask grammar questions that didn't have a solution and were fine the way they were. It was a cruel trick to throw students off their game and test their knowledge in a test-like situation.

In the end, Seras took a deep breath. She could tell that the latter was not the case this time. Without hesitating any longer, she put a neat comma between "strong" and "but". She after making her mark, she set down the chalk and stepped back to show the class and the teacher what she had done.

Her teacher nodded in approval. "Very nice, you are correct. Please take your-"

Just as planned, the bell went off and the children stood up quickly from their seats, leaving their backpacks behind. They rushed out the door while the teacher tried to stop them from leaving too soon and failed in doing so. Seras ducked back to her desk to retrieve her bag lunch and find a nice tree to sit under for lunch. If she couldn't have any friends during the lunch period so the least she could do was sit alone with a view.

She walked out of the classroom with her lunch clutched in her hands. The hallways were crowded with people going back and forth trying to claim spots to enjoy their meals. Some ducked under stairwells, others claimed empty classrooms to hold up in, and few choose to brave the weather and go into the courtyard.

The last option was Seras's favorite.

She climbed down a long set of stairs and reached the double doors that led to the back courtyard. Without a hitch, she pushed open the doors and stepped out into the open air of fall beginning to take it's chilling grip over the natural world.

The outdoor area was very simple in layout. In essence, it was a boxed in garden with flowerbeds bordering on the sides. They were mostly rose bushes that gave off a sickly sweet scent, but there was the occasional wild ones that poked through the reds. There were about four scattered trees that were beginning to change colors with the season of autumn taking a firm grasp on them. The grass was starting to loose it's lush green and thinning out for the coming winter. At the center was a fountain with an angel standing with poise as a center piece. Its wings stretched out as if it was in preparation to land or to take off from the darkness that was today. In one arm was a book that had strange words worn down from exposure to the elements. A set of four walkways branched out from the fountain and led to other sets of double doors, providing alternate ways to get back inside.

Everything about the courtyard said "I'm empty, go away" and it was perfect for Seras and her purpose.

A soft wind blew a group of leaves across the grass and cobblestone. Seras pulled her uniform coat around her shoulders and proceeded under the nearest tree to eat in peace. She sat down in the cushion of the receding grass and opened up her lunch bag.

Walter must've really wanted to make her feel better today. Inside was a peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, strawberries cut into neat wedges, baby carrots, a small water bottle, and a small plastic box with two chocolate chip cookies. Seras felt her mouth water a little at the sight of the modest lunch. She clasped her hands together and grinned for the first time in hours since school began for the day. "Thank you, Walter!"

She didn't waste another second before digging into her food. There was a strict pattern she always followed while eating her; she had yet to break that pattern. Seras always began with her sandwich and vegetables first. It felt wrong to eat her sweet foods before finishing off her less sugary foods first. After she had chowed down on both the sandwich and carrots, she moved to begin eating her fruits and taking gulps of water in between bites. In no time at all, Seras had gotten rid of everything except the cookies.

She took the container of cookies out from her lunch box and flipped open the lid. There the two treats lay, golden brown with chocolate chips scattered about evenly. There was no doubt in the blonde's mind that Walter had convinced the cook to be extra careful about hiding the sweets at the bottom of the box.

Seras lifted one cookie from the container and opened her mouth to take a bite into the beautiful pastry.

 _Slam!_

"Get back here, you dirty German!"

The sound of a group of voices stopped her from taking the bite though. Seras looked up to see a group of students walking into the courtyard as if they owned the very ground they walked on. They smirked and snickered at a girl standing in front of them. She was panting as if she had been running from the other students as fast as she could. Backing away from the group of students was Heinkel.

Seras watched with a horrible feeling in her stomach as the students drew closer and closer to her school rival with smiles and snickers on their faces. Part of her wanted to help the girl out, but another part of her wanted to avoid another conflict involving Heinkel. She opted to stand by and let the her classmate handle it herself.

"What's the matter, German? Too afraid to fight us?"

The girl spit on the ground near their feet. "Shut up and leave me alone!" she shouted and turned on her heel to book it in the other direction. One of the boys in the group stepped forward and grabbed onto Wolfe's arm tightly. "Don't run away, we just wanna play a game of wrestling!"

It was the breaking point for the onlooker. Without waiting any longer or even thinking, Seras dropped everything and prayed she would get suspended for what she was about to do.

"Let her go!"

* * *

Father Anderson stood over Seras and Heinkel. Both girls had their hair in shambles and their clothes caked with dirt and plants. The former had cuts and bruises from the rose bushes running up and down her arms and the rips in her leggings. The latter had a blooming black eye on the left side as well as a pair of broken glasses clutched in her hands.

The teacher glared at them for a moment longer before turning all of his rage on Seras. "This is the second time this month, Miss Victoria. When will you learn that fighting solves nothing in this school?" he exclaimed. His angry words echoed in the nurse's office where they resided for the time being. Heinkel flinched at the man's words even when they weren't directed at her in particular. There was nothing she could say in defense of the person who had rescued her from getting a worse injury.

Seras didn't back down though. She raised her head and met the challenging gaze head on with a glare of her own. "She was being bullied. I asked them to let go and they punch her in the eye, sir." She lowered her head to stare at her lap. "I couldn't let that go."

The man huffed and straightened his posture. "If it were my decision, I would expel you on the very ground you walk on." Seras clutched the hem of her skirt. "It's in the hands of the headmaster for now." Despite the comfort knowing her judgement would be passed down by someone who seemed more sensible, she was still afraid. The last thing she needed right now was to get expelled after only a month of schooling. She could already see the face of Integra bearing down at her with the force a billion suns. Alucard would make her run faster than ever in her physical training. Even Walter would stop smuggling her sweets and force her to each nothing but bland bread and celery for the rest of her life.

It was all over for her.

Heinkel sniffed beside Seras and stood up from her chair. She looked up at Father Anderson and matched his stern stance in all his masculine glory. "Uncle Anderson, please don't be angry with Seras." Said girl looked up from her knees and was awed with the support from her supposed enemy. Wolfe caught the look and clutched her hands into fists. "I-I was the one who was mean to the group of kids and I deserved to get beat up, but Seras..."

She trailed off for a moment before meeting the cold gaze of her uncle. "She doesn't deserve to be punished for my mistakes." Heinkel bowed her head and looked her eyes with the tile floor. "I take all the blame, Father..."

Anderson sighed and ruffled Heinkel's hair, a gesture that shocked the child and made her look up with wonder. The man smiled and kneeled down to her level. "Your confession is accepted, but I don't blame you. On the other hand," He held up two fingers and laid his hand on her shoulder, "Two weeks, no sweets."

Heinkel breathed easy and nodded. "Yes, uncle."

Anderson grinned and stood back up. "Off with you wee lassie! Yumiko has been looking for you since lunch!"

The girl nodded and bounded to the door to go back to class. She glanced back at Seras and gave her a small smile. "You fight good, thanks." Seras watched in amazement as she left the room, quietly closing the door behind her. Her heart felt a little fuzzy now that she had a tiny piece of respect from the catholic girl. It gave her hope that they could be friends in the future.


End file.
